US STOCKS-Futures little changed ahead of June payrolls report

July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday, with the June non-farm payrolls data firmly on investors’ minds amid rising expectations of tighter monetary policy.

* Investors are focused on wage growth and whether spending by consumers will be strong enough to back the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates once more this year.

* Nonfarm payrolls increased by 179,000 jobs last month after gaining 138,000 in May, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The Labor Department’s closely watched report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

* Policymakers have taken opposing views on inflation after it retreated below the central bank’s 2 percent target in May, creating uncertainty over the future path of rate hikes.

* Adding to the jitters are bets that the world’s major central banks are moving closer to unwinding their ultra-loose monetary policies.

* Oil fell 3 percent after data showed U.S. production rose last week just as OPEC exports hit a 2017 high. Oil prices are down more than 16 percent this year, adding to low inflation concerns.

* Oil majors Exxon and Chevron were down about 0.3 percent in premarket trading.

* U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday due to a steep fall in technology stocks and a disappointing private sector hiring report. Rising tensions in the Korean peninsula also added to the pressure.

* Investors will be watching for developments from the G20 summit, which is underway in Germany, with focus on President Donald Trump’s first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* Tesla rose 1.8 percent after the luxury electric carmaker won an Australian contract to install the world’s biggest grid-scale battery. Tesla’s shares have fallen about 15 percent this week following the company’s lower-than-expected deliveries.